The Contested Theological Authority of Thomas Aquinas: The Controversies Between Hervaeus Natalis and Durandus of St. Pourçain

Description

First published 2003 by Routledge. This book explains how the authority Thomas Aquinas's theological teachings grew out of the doctrinal controversies surrounding it within the Dominican Order. The adoption and eventual promotion of the teachings of Aquinas by the Order of Preachers ran counter to every other current running through the late thirteenth-century Church; most scholastics, the Dominican Order included, were wary of the his unconventional teachings. Despite this, the Dominican Order was propelled along their solitary via Thomas by conflicts between two groups of magistri: Aquinas's early Dominican followers and their more conservative neo-Augustinian brethren. This debate reached its climax in a series of bitter polemical battles between Hervaeus Natalis, the most prominent of early defenders, and Durandus of St. Pourçain, the last major Dominican thinker to attack Aquinas's teachings openly. Elizabeth Lowe offers a vivid illustration of this major shift in the Dominican intellectual tradition. ABBREVIATIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE. THE DOMINICAN ORDER AND ITS EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURES Charismatic Origins Translation into an Institution Early Growth Study, Schools, and Scholars Friar Preachers at the University CHAPTER TWO. THE DOMINICAN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION The Friar Preachers and the Methodology of the Schools Aristotle among the Friar Preachers Thomas Aquinas, the Condemnations, and Their Consequences Dominican Reactions to the Condemnations CHAPTER THREE. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CONTROVERSIES Early Dominican Thomists The Predominance of the Augustinian Tradition, 1277–1307 The Antagonists Herveaus Natalis and Durandus of St. Pourçain Conclusion CHAPTER FOUR. SELECTED ISSUES IN THE CONTROVERSIES The Debate over Relation The Debate over Cognition The Debate over Theology CHAPTER FIVE. THE CONTROVERSIES AND THE QUESTION OF AQUINAS’ THEOLOGICAL AUTHORITY Medieval Conceptions of Theological Authorities Natalis' and Durandus' Concepts of 'Auctoritas' The Controversies and Aquinas’ 'Auctoritas' CONCLUSION ENDNOTES WORKS CITED INDEX